Hanzell Vertical

Seattle, WA
Tasted Sunday, April 15, 2007 by Eric with 1,217 views

Introduction

Roy Hersh put together an extensive vertical of Hanzell wines hosted at UNION Restaurant in Seattle. The restaurant did a great job with food and glassware. Twelve attended in total including Michael Terrien, the current winemaker and GM at Hanzell.

Flight 1 - CHARDONNAY 1 (4 Notes)

  • 1980 Hanzell Chardonnay

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Poached pear, fairly charming, lively with a hint of brioche. Faded fruit but rather lively acidity, brisk with some green apple. Nice glycerin as it warms in the glass. Mostly about the acid at this point but still a wine with surprising life in it at 27 years.

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  • 1981 Hanzell Chardonnay

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Marzipan. Rather full in the mouth with sweet pears, a hint of butterscotch. This falls off a little on the finish with a faint bitter pith note, but this was clearly the wine of the flight. Amazing fruit at 26 years!

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  • 1984 Hanzell Chardonnay Flawed

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Corked

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  • 1987 Hanzell Chardonnay

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Doughy, some spirit, more mature smelling than either the 1980 or 1981. A bit bitter on the palate and definitely the most mature of the flight. Falls away on the finish. Not dead by any stretch but definitely seems to be heading down.

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Flight 2 - CHARDONNAY 2 (4 Notes)

  • 1992 Hanzell Chardonnay

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Lovely green glow. A rather complex nose with hints of seaweed, flint, definite White Burgundy character. Wow, an explosion on the palate, mouthwatering acidity, minerals, tangy fruit, passion fruit, very vibrant. Nice glycerin. Finishes out with some bitter almond notes but not in a bad way. Lovely wine and the best vintage of the Chardonnay all night.

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  • 1993 Hanzell Chardonnay

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    More tropical than the 1992, some pineapple, a hint of brine. Very present acidity, less dynamic than 1992 but very respectable.

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  • 1994 Hanzell Chardonnay Flawed

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Corked

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  • 1995 Hanzell Chardonnay

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Almond and vanilla. More toasty, showing its oak now, especially in comparison to other Hanzell vintages. Kistler-like, strong acidity, quite toasty, but it handles it all quite well. Still a bit disjointed but packed with raw material. Seeing the older vintages and how they have developed, I suspect that this one will actually do quite well in time.

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Flight 3 - PINOT NOIR 1 (3 Notes)

  • 1965 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    From the winery cellar in honor of our tasting. Smokey, peat, Rhone-like with an Earl Gray hint of Bergamot. Wow, the palate shows almost syrupy extraction, but it starts to crack up pretty quickly in the glass and show some leathery qualities. A papery, dry finish detracts, but this was really a special treat and a beautiful wine!

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  • 1973 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Mint and wintergreen explode from the glass. Actually, this is more like an After Eight dinner mint with a definite smell and taste of chocolate covered mints. A hint of soy (oxidation) creeps in over time. This does show nice grip and lively, tangy flavors albeit somewhat linear. Firm, masculine personality on the finish.

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  • 1974 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Some complained of TCA, but I thought the wine was not corked or if so then only very faintly. A bit of spirit on the nose and then sweet incense and pine, almost luxurious smelling. Tangy and structured with pomegranate and a dusty grippy personality.

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Flight 4 - PINOT NOIR 2 (4 Notes)

  • 1976 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    I can't quite pin down the nose. Some high-pitched elements, a whiff of game, heat, resin, faint mint and yes Justin, some notes of bubblegum. This has a texture like the 1965, big, syrupy, fiercely tannic, some coffee, darned this is MOUTH RIPPING actually. Wow, I always like a good kick in the teeth from a tannic wine, but this baby is firm; I like it!

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  • 1977 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Smells a bit tired and oxidized. Underbrush. Some OJ. Raisin and Amarone character. I thought this wine was toast, although others saw some merit. No thanks.

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  • 1978 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    A very reticent nose with a whiff of sandalwood. You have to really swirl and beat it up to get something out of this bottle. A nice texture and really nice inner-mouth perfume again with balsa/sandalwood notes. Dry and a bit rough on the finish but with rustic charm. Actually, this gets more and more rough and savage, rather over the top in terms of tannins, more rustic than the other vintages.

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  • 1979 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Rhubarb, stalk, boysenberry and a whiff of brett. Mmm, this is pretty seamless, tangy, again in an exceptionally firm style but with nice fruit to back up the grip. My favorite of the flight.

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Flight 5 - PINOT NOIR 3 (4 Notes)

  • 1980 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Cedar, smoke, a teensy bit of soy, and then some raspberry hiding. Wow, this was awfully suave as compared to the wines of the 1970's. Silky, tangy, seamless, a dusty finish but with tannins under control. A beautiful wine!

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  • 1982 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Brett, mmmm!!! Some licorice, fennel, this smells more like a Beaucastel than a Hanzell. Really nice texture, rather present acidity, brisk, and chewy. Dry and a bit tart on the finish. Seemingly a dirtier wine than other vintages.

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  • 1983 Hanzell Pinot Noir Flawed

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Corked!

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  • 1987 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Reticent nose. Dill. A little nutty. Somewhat linear, black and brooding, closed, a very chunky wine but at age 20 it's still locked up pretty tight.

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Flight 6 - PINOT NOIR 4 (4 Notes)

  • 1993 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Red fruit, more of a raspberry and cherry personality, bright and quite in contrast to the older wines which were much more black. Silky, saturated, enveloping, quite peppery. Lovely resin, sour cherry, nice, twangy, lotsa grip.

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  • 1994 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Vitamin moving to mushroom on the nose. Scott said "stewy" which seemed fair. The palate is a bit of a throwback, chunky, but well contained, much like the wines from the 1980's. I was disappointed that this bottle (which I brought) seemed cooked (although many people like it a lot), so later in the tasting I popped my backup bottle in for a revisit of the same wine...

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  • 1995 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Dark, pure, powerful. Medium weight at first but picks up heft. Dark fruit. A strong, extracted, broad-shouldered wine.

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  • 1998 Hanzell Pinot Noir

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Hooboy, pure, unevolved, nice Pinot twang to this, dark character. Wowsa this is popping, likey-likey, a really deep, laser of a Pinot.

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Flight 7 - BUBBLES (1 Note)

At this point we took a break while the table was re-set for dinner. We had saved a couple of flights of younger wines to have with food, a great decision.

Beef Tartare with capers, cornichons, rye crackers

Flight 8 - CHARDONNAY 3 (4 Notes)

Cauliflower soup with seared sea scallop, brown butter apples
Halibut with white bean and haricot vert salad

Flight 9 - PINOT NOIR 5 (4 Notes)

Roasted squab with celery root purée, red chard, spring onions

Flight 10 - CABERNET (1 Note)

Miti Caña with candied carrot, Marcona almonds

  • 1987 Hanzell Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

    Very vegetal and chalky. As a Cabernet lover I can appreciate this to some extent, but no one around me enjoyed this AT ALL. Ash, olive, definite Green Machine. Interesting but I understand why they stopped making Cabernet.

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Flight 11 - DESSERT (1 Note)

Rosemary crème caramel with orange parsnip purée

Closing

Whew, what a marathon. I really enjoyed seeing such a distinct style from such a traditional producer.

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